Radford University Literature Professor Named American Council on Education Fellow

The American Council on Education (ACE) announced that Erin Webster-Garrett, Professor of Literature at Radford University, has been named an ACE Fellow for the 2017-18 academic year.

Webster-Garrett serves as Director of the university's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), a mandatory component of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Erin received her Ph. D. in Literary Studies from the University of Denver in 2001 and has presented and published widely on topics related to the Godwin-Shelley circle, digital humanities, and feminist pedagogy. She assumed the role of QEP Director after serving in several faculty leadership positions. As QEP Director, Erin’s work has been focused on leveraging accreditation efforts to forward civic learning and pedagogies of engagement across the institution.

"I am honored to have been selected as part of the 2017-2018 ACE Fellows class. I want to also express my deep gratitude to Joe Scartelli, Interim Provost, for serving as my nominator in this process and to my unofficial mentors, most especially Steve Lerch, Coordinator of Retention," says Webster-Garrett. "The Fellowship is an incredible opportunity to work alongside and learn from those who are developing approaches for addressing the complex problems facing public, higher education institutions. While I don’t yet know where I will be placed, I intend to make the most of the opportunity, both to bring ideas and information home to Radford and to share with my ACE colleagues our commitment at Radford to student success and empowerment."

Webster-Garrett is among 46 fellows nominated by the senior administration of their institutions. The program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, visits to campuses and other higher education-related organizations, and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year, according to the ACE.

During the placement, fellows observe and work with the president and other senior officers at their host institution, attend decision-making meetings and focus on issues of interest. Fellows also conduct projects of pressing concern for their home institution and seek to implement their findings upon completion of the fellowship placement.

Nearly 1,900 higher education leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program over the past five decades, with more than 80 percent of fellows having gone on to serve as senior leaders of colleges and universities.

"Fulfilling higher education's 21st century mission depends upon a visionary, bold and diverse global community of institutional leaders, and the ACE Fellows Program plays a key role in cultivating these leaders," said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad. "The diverse and talented 2017-18 Fellows class demonstrates why the program has made such a vital contribution for more than a half-century to expanding the leadership pipeline for our colleges and universities."

For more information, visit The American Council on Education.